US budget deficit widens to $747 bn in 9 months

Washington: The US federal budget deficit reached $747 billion in the first nine months of the fiscal year 2019, up by 23 per cent from the previous year, the Treasury Department said.

The top three outlays for the nine months, from October to June, were $780 billion on social security, $512 billion on national defence, and $485 billion on medicare, according to data from the Monthly Treasury Statement released on Thursday.

Federal expenditures increased to $3.36 trillion in the period, up by 6.6 per cent from a year ago, while revenue grew to $2.61 trillion, up by 2.7 per cent, reports Xinhua news agency.

The federal budget deficit in June totalled $8.5 billion, with total outlays reaching $342 billion, down by 12.5 per cent from the year before, and total revenues $334 billion, up by 5.6 per cent.

Based on the budget proposal for fiscal year 2020 that President Donald Trump sent to Congress in March, the deficit is expected to reach about $1 trillion for fiscal year 2020, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) had estimated in May.

The International Monetary Fund said in June that the US public debt is on "an unsustainable path", and policy adjustments are needed to lower the fiscal deficit and to put public debt on a gradual downward path over the medium term.